Rebels impose ban on imported products in Cote D'Ivoire

IRINNews.org reported in July 2004 from Bouake that the ‘New Forces’ rebel movement imposed an import ban on certain types of food and drink in order to promote economic activity in the northern half of Cote d'Ivoire which it controls. The head of the rebels’ economic recovery unit, Dramane Kone, told IRIN at his headquarters in Bouake, central Cote d’Ivoire last week, that the ban applied to items such as cooking oil, rice, sugar, beer, soft drinks and cigarettes. Find the full story here.